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Morning Headlines
BBC News: The UK has not carried out a single conviction for breaches of Russian sanctions, the National Crime Agency has said.
Reuters: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock indirectly criticised Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his reluctance to approve a further 3 billion euros in additional military aid for Ukraine.
ISW: The entire North Korean contingent of roughly 12,000 personnel currently in Kursk Oblast may be killed or wounded in action by mid-April 2025 should North Korean forces continue to suffer from their current high loss rate in the future.
Reuters: Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, has bought 7 million barrels of spot Middle Eastern and African crude oil via tenders, including a rare purchase of Abu Dhabi's Murban, as U.S. sanctions are expected to hit supplies from Russia.
More News
The Insider: Tobacco giants Philip Morris and JTI operate in Russia via FSB-linked distributor, Proekt investigation finds. Megapolis, owned by billionaires Igor Kesaev and Sergei Katsiev is tied to high-ranking current and former FSB officers like Nikolai Patrushev.
The Moscow Times: Cars, iPhones and flowers: As Russia keeps hiking payments for men who sign up to fight in its invasion of Ukraine, their wives and girlfriends are showing off their affluent new lives on Instagram and TikTok.
Meduza: For the past six months, several pro-war Telegram channels have been calling on Russian-speaking residents of Europe to spy on NATO military sites and report their findings through a special bot.
The Kyiv Independent: The 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade shared a video on Jan. 16 purporting to show the downing of Russian forces' rare reconnaissance drone Merlin-VR.
AFP: Donald Trump's Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent said Thursday he would support tightening sanctions on Russia if the incoming president saw it as a way toward ending the war in Ukraine.
Reuters: Planned Russian military reforms that would increase Moscow's troop numbers by 30% are a threat to NATO and should be met with vigilance, the chief of Finland's military intelligence service Pekka Turunen said on Thursday.
The Kyiv Independent: Following his visit to Kyiv, Dutch Foreign Minister Kaspar Veldkamp announced 27 million euros in new aid for Ukraine on Jan. 16.
Security Week: Microsoft researchers have uncovered Russian intelligence agencies using spear-phishing tactics to target victims with QR codes and WhatsApp group chats.
Meduza: With this year’s Victory Day fast approaching, Russian officials are beginning preparations. Sources say that soldiers returning from Ukraine will take center stage and that the Kremlin is hoping to attract major Western guests to its Moscow parade.
The Kyiv Independent: Advisers to Trump are crafting a wide-ranging sanctions strategy to facilitate a Russia-Ukraine diplomatic accord in the coming months while at the same time squeezing Iran and Venezuela, Bloomberg reports.
This year the UK will give more military support to Ukraine than ever before, with £3 billion already committed for lethal aid, and the first £1.5 billion from a £2.26 billion loan as part of the G7 program that will be paid back using frozen Russian assets.
The Kyiv Independent: The International Register of Damage for Ukraine has begun accepting applications for compensation from families who lost close relatives due to Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's Presidential Office announced on Jan. 16.
Bloomberg: The cost of shipping Russian ESPO crude to China has more than tripled after the US imposed aggressive sanctions on Moscow’s oil industry last week, with rates expected to climb even higher, according to traders (archive).
The Kyiv Independent: Kyiv is extending its cooperation with Norwegian defense company Kongsberg, one of the suppliers of NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Jan. 16.
The Moscow Times: The Ukrainian military said Thursday its forces had captured more than two dozen Russian soldiers in the southwestern Kursk region, where it has been battling Moscow's army since launching an incursion in August.
Reuters: Poland, the largest importer of Russian liquefied petroleum gas, is set to cut its purchases this year by around 80% due to Western sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine, the Polish LPG association said.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine blew up the No. 3 mine's shaft in the village of Pishchane in Donetsk Oblast to prevent Russia from deploying its troops closer to the front-line town of Pokrovsk, The New York Times reported on Jan. 15, citing miners.
Reuters: A major Russian gunpowder factory in the Tambov region was attacked, a Ukrainian official said on Thursday, without directly claiming Ukrainian responsibility or specifying the consequences of the attack.
worth mentioning
Ukrainian brigade pioneers remote-controlled ground assaults
Russia labels Canadian tech company OpenText ‘undesirable’
LPG exports by Russia's Sibur via Ust-Luga fell 37% in 2024
Italy's Defense Minister Crosetto arrives in Kyiv on official visit
Italian steel company owns Russian industrial plant sanctioned by the U.S., IrpiMedia reports
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